Serpent Ancestor

The head of the female cultivator in the cheongsam rolled to the side of the hall.

The noisy crowd instantly fell silent, everyone retreating to avoid getting caught in the crossfire.

Some cultivators, however, wore cold smiles, eager to watch the spectacle.

The last person who killed someone in the Heavenly Dragon Casino had grass growing a meter high on their grave.

”How dare you kill someone in the Heavenly Dragon Casino! You’re courting death!”

An old man in hemp clothes appeared, raising his hand to suppress Xu Hei without a word. His palm, as large as a fan, descended on Xu Hei like Mount Tai.

This man’s cultivation had reached the Great Perfection of the Foundation Establishment Stage. Against a troublemaker like Xu Hei, he struck with lethal intent!

Xu Hei himself was hidden underground with an Invisibility Talisman. This mere avatar couldn’t withstand such a powerful opponent.

But Xu Hei remained unfazed, pulling out the Soul-absorbing Flag and waving it skyward.

”Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh...”A large group of phantom snake heads suddenly burst from the flag, biting at the descending palm. Each bite took out a large chunk, and in an instant, the palm crumbled to dust.

”Not bad.”

The old man’s eyes narrowed. He took out a bronze furnace and waved it. With a thought, the furnace’s suction power erupted, and a fire ignited inside, attempting to draw in and refine the snake souls.

Suddenly, one of the Jiao Pythons raised its head and spat a stream of venom onto the furnace. The bronze furnace emitted a hissing sound, blue smoke rising as it vaporized instantly, leaving no trace.

”What?” The old man was dumbfounded, retreating as if he’d seen a ghost. The Jiao Python soared into the air, opening its mouth to bite his head.

”A third-tier demonic beast’s soul!”

The old man was terrified, shouting in despair, ”Master, save me!”

”Boom!”

An invisible force surged, halting the Jiao Python mid-air, but it still spat venom, which splashed onto the old man’s sleeve.

”Ah!!”

A piercing scream echoed as the old man decisively severed his arm, which turned to ash instantly.

Xu Hei waved the Soul-absorbing Flag, recalling all the souls, including the Jiao Python.

These snake demon souls had grown, developing some basic instincts. They were no longer just mindless wraiths; they had a degree of self-awareness.

Thus, they could be recalled after being released.

In mid-air, the figure of a woman in a red robe gradually appeared. She looked to be in her middle years, with fair skin, long legs, red lips, and white teeth, exuding the charm of a mature woman.

She was the master of the Heavenly Dragon Casino, Liu Ruyan.

”Who would have thought that my humble casino would attract such an esteemed guest,” Liu Ruyan said calmly, her tone betraying no anger.

”Master, this...”

The old man with the severed arm hurriedly transmitted his voice, thinking that if they didn’t kill this person who had murdered in public, their reputation would be ruined.

”Step back.”

Liu Ruyan glanced at him. The old man trembled, bowed, and retreated.

Then, the red-robed woman looked at Xu Hei and smiled, ”Esteemed guest, what would you like to play?”

”I already said, I’m playing for my life,” Xu Hei replied, his expression unchanged.

”Very well, the Heavenly Dragon Casino has always had a rule: whatever the guest wants to play, we will accommodate,” Liu Ruyan nodded slightly.

This bizarre scene caused an uproar among the crowd.

The Heavenly Dragon Casino was the most profitable force under the Myriad Treasure Pavilion, an economic pillar. Even Core Formation Stage cultivators wouldn’t dare cause trouble here.

Yet this middle-aged male cultivator had killed someone in public and severed the arm of the old manager, and he was just let off?

”Isn’t he the infamous gambling addict Ma Teng? He sold his wife and children.”

”What’s going on?”

”Heavens, when did Ma Teng get such a powerful backing!”

The crowd speculated wildly. How had Ma Teng gotten so lucky? Not only had he broken through to the Foundation Establishment Stage, but he also had such a powerful backing that he dared to kill in the Heavenly Dragon Casino without being captured.

Most of the people present were locals from the Chu Kingdom, with few from the Qin Kingdom.

They had never encountered an inner disciple of the Heavenly Puppet Sect in their lives and couldn’t fathom the use of a puppet in place of a real person.

Many were unaware of such puppet techniques, only the high-level members of the Heavenly Dragon Casino could recognize it, but they didn’t expose it.

Xu Hei walked to a platform and waved his hand.

”Whoosh!”

A figure flew onto the platform, it was Zhang Kuang, controlled by Xu Hei.

”You and I will gamble. You send someone to fight this person. If your person wins, I’ll lose ten thousand to you. If they don’t win, you lose ten thousand to me. How about it?” Xu Hei said calmly.

Liu Ruyan nodded slightly, ”Agreed.”

She waved her hand, and a burly man walked out from among the slaves and stood on the platform. This man had reached the Great Perfection of the Qi Refining Stage, equal in cultivation to Zhang Kuang.

The onlookers were stunned.

This was clearly Zhang Kuang, who was responsible for debt collection, yet he was on the platform like a slave.

And his expression seemed unusually calm.

”Others can place bets too. The odds are two to one. I’ll accept all bets. You have the time of one stick of incense to decide,” Xu Hei said.

The crowd looked at each other, hesitant to place bets.

This situation was clearly not simple. Who would dare get involved?

However, many gambling addicts with low intelligence and some influential people were present.

After a while, many placed their bets.

”I bet a hundred on Zhang Kuang to win.”

”I bet three hundred on the slave to win...”

Soon, Xu Hei collected three thousand spirit stones in bets.

”I bet five thousand spirit stones on Zhang Kuang to win.”

The last bet was placed by a young cultivator. He had an arrogant demeanor, handsome looks, and had reached the mid-Foundation Establishment Stage at a young age.

”That’s the young master of the Bai Family, Bai Qiushui!”

”He’s a prodigy, said to have achieved a perfect Foundation Establishment, capable of fighting even late Foundation Establishment cultivators.”

Whispers spread among the crowd.

Xu Hei was taken aback. It was the first time he had heard of a perfect Foundation Establishment in someone else.

The Bai Family was a renowned noble family in the Qin Kingdom. Bai Xiu and Bai Ye were both from the Bai Family.

Bai Qiushui glanced at Xu Hei and nodded slightly.

Xu Hei paid no attention to him and said directly, ”Begin!”

As soon as Xu Hei spoke, he controlled Zhang Kuang to charge forward, engaging in a fierce battle. The slave quickly stabilized his stance.

The slave had survived countless life-and-death battles, and both his spellcasting and physical body had reached the peak of the Qi Refining Stage. In terms of raw strength, he was clearly superior to Zhang Kuang.

However, Zhang Kuang was under Xu Hei’s control.

”Boom!!!”

After a few moves, Xu Hei controlled Zhang Kuang to self-destruct while holding the slave, resulting in both of them dying on the spot.

Everyone was stunned.

They had never seen a self-destruction in a platform battle before.

”A draw, all bets are collected!”

Xu Hei gathered all the spirit stones from the bettors, including Liu Ruyan’s, making a small profit of eighteen thousand.

Ignoring the angry expressions of the crowd, Xu Hei sent Manager Zhu onto the platform and said, ”For the second round, I’ll have him fight. You send someone too. The rules remain the same.”

Manager Zhu, who was at the mid-Foundation Establishment Stage, was not fully controlled. His eyes were filled with deep fear as he looked at Liu Ruyan, seemingly pleading for help.

Liu Ruyan took a deep breath, her voice turning cold, ”Esteemed guest, I have respected you and given you some face. I hope you know when to stop. The Heavenly Dragon Casino is not a place to be bullied!”

Liu Ruyan could see that Xu Hei had no other intention but to cause trouble.

Playing along once in front of so many people was giving face, but if he pushed too far and even dared to kill a Foundation Establishment manager, where would her dignity be?

As the casino master, she wasn’t easy to bully. Did he really think she feared a disciple of the Heavenly Puppet Sect?

”Hmm?”

Xu Hei frowned slightly, taking something out of his storage bag.

”Your voice was too low, I didn’t hear what you said. Could you repeat it?”

Xu Hei’s eyes gleamed coldly, and he applied slight pressure to the bead in his hand. The bead emitted a world-destroying aura, with arcs of lightning spreading and rumbling. It was the Thunder Tribulation Pearl.

”Run!”

The entire crowd was terrified, retreating frantically. Even Bai Qiushui’s face changed drastically as he retreated hundreds of meters, taking out a Small Teleportation Talisman for safety.

Liu Ruyan could no longer remain calm. Her face changed dramatically as she shouted in shock, ”Friend, calm down! Let’s talk this out!”